Patterning apparatus and patterning methods thereof

ABSTRACT

A patterning apparatus is provided. The patterning apparatus includes a plurality of liquid jet units arranged in one or more groups and configured to jet an anti-etching liquid onto a surface of a substrate. The patterning apparatus also includes a plurality of exposure units configured to expose light on the anti-etching liquid jetted on the surface of the substrate to heat and cure the jetted anti-etching liquid to form anti-etching patterns on the surface of the substrate. Further, the patterning apparatus includes a control unit configured to control motion status and jetting status of the plurality of liquid jet units and motion status and exposure status of the plurality of exposure units, so as to form the anti-etching patterns at a predetermined line width and thickness.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of Chinese patent application No.201410025114.1, filed on Jan. 20, 2014, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of semiconductortechnology and, more particularly, relates to patterning apparatus andpatterning methods thereof.

BACKGROUND

During the development of the integrated circuit (IC) fabricationtechnology, photolithography process has always been a major process forfabricating semiconductor patterns. For a photolithography process,various patterns on a photolithographic mask are sequentially projectedon a substrate coated with a photoresist layer with a precise alignmentby an exposure apparatus. After a developing process, the designedpatterns are formed on the substrate.

With the continuous shrinkage of the critical dimension (CD) of thesemiconductor technology, the cost of the optical exposure apparatus andthe high resolution mask has become a major limitation for thedevelopment of the semiconductor technology. Currently, the cost of theexposure process and related cost of the semiconductor manufacture is ina range of approximately 35%˜40% of the total cost of the semiconductormanufacturing. When the substrate with diameter of 450 mm is introduced,the cost of the exposure apparatus may be increased in a range ofapproximately 50%˜60% of the total cost of the semiconductormanufacture.

Some processes have been developed to substitute the photolithographyprocess, such as the multiple e-beam lithography technology, or thenano-imprinting technology, etc. However, the multiple e-beamlithography technology is more expensive; and its throughput is slow dueto limited electron current that can be used with electron guns. Thenano-imprinting technology is limited by the high defect density(˜50-100 times more than the photolithography method).

Therefore, a low-cost patterning apparatus and patterning method is ofdemand. The disclosed apparatus and method are directed to solve one ormore problems set forth above and other problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One aspect of the present disclosure includes a patterning apparatus.The patterning apparatus includes a plurality of liquid jet unitsarranged in one or more groups and configured to jet an anti-etchingliquid onto a surface of a substrate. The patterning apparatus alsoincludes a plurality of exposure units configured to expose light on theanti-etching liquid jetted on the surface of the substrate to heat andcure the jetted anti-etching liquid to form anti-etching patterns on thesurface of the substrate. Further, the patterning apparatus includes acontrol unit configured to control motion status and jetting status ofthe plurality of liquid jet units and motion status and exposure statusof the plurality of exposure units, so as to form the anti-etchingpatterns at a predetermined line width and thickness.

Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a patterning methodfor a patterning apparatus having a plurality of liquid jet unitsarranged in columns and groups and a plurality of exposure unitscorresponding to the plurality of liquid jet units. The method includesproviding a substrate. The method includes jetting an anti-etchingliquid onto a surface of the substrate by the plurality of liquid jetunits along a scanning direction. Further, the method includes exposinglight on the anti-etching liquid jetted on the surface of the substrateto heat and cure the jetted anti-etching liquid to form anti-etchingpatterns on the surface of the substrate by the plurality of exposureunits along the scanning direction. The method also includes controllingmotion status and jetting status of the plurality of liquid jet unitsand controlling motion status and exposure status of the plurality ofexposure units, so as to form the anti-etching patterns at apredetermined line width and thickness.

Other aspects of the present disclosure can be understood by thoseskilled in the art in light of the description, the claims, and thedrawings of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the three-dimensional view of a liquid jet unitconsistent with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates the three-dimensional view of a plurality of liquidjet units aligned in a column consistent with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of a plurality of liquid jet unitsconsistent with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates the principle of the exposure unit irradiating theanti-etching liquid consistent with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a liquid jet group having a plurality of the liquidjet units consistent with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a liquid jet module having a plurality of the liquidjet groups consistent with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates insulation layers and an anti-etching liquid pool ofan exemplary patterning apparatus consistent with the disclosedembodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates the principle of scanning a substrate using amultiple-liquid-jet module consistent with the disclosed embodiments;and

FIG. 9 illustrates a controlling of the line width of the anti-etchingpatterns by the quantity of the anti-etching liquid consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of theinvention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

During the manufacturing of semiconductor patterns, especially themanufacturing of fin field effect transistor (FinFET), it may need alarge quantity of regular patterns, such as lines/spaces, and/or regularspace holes, etc. These regular patterns may only contain a relativesmall amount of spatial information, such as line width, pitch, lengthof pattern array and width of pattern array. Thus, it may be a waste forusing the photolithography process to form such regular patterns, andfinding a more cost-effective way in substrate patterning will benecessary to support the sustainable growth of the economy of thesemiconductor manufacturing industry.

Further, the liquid jet technology may be able to obtain a relativelyhigh resolution, for example, the resolution of the liquid jettechnology may be approximately of 9600 dpi the non-scanning direction,which is equivalent to a 2.6 um pitch with a 1.3 um dot size; and muchhigher than the resolution of most camera lenses with a resolution in arange of approximately 5 μm-20 um. In a photolithography process, theresist or anti-reflection layer material may be filtered through a 5 nmpore size filter, which means that the photoresist may penetrate throughnanoscopic openings with no issues. Therefore, the cost issue of thesemiconductor manufacture may be overcome by a patterning apparatus anda patterning method based on the liquid jet technology.

The patterning apparatus may include one or more liquid jet units andone or more exposure units. FIG. 1 illustrates a three-dimensional viewa liquid jet unit consistent with the disclosed embodiments. As shown inFIG. 1, the liquid jet unit 100 may include an anti-etching liquid unitcell 101, a jet nozzle 102, a compression unit 103, a first electrode104 and a second electrode 105.

The anti-etching liquid cell 101 may be configured to hold ananti-etching liquid. Further, the anti-etching liquid cell 101 mayconnect with the jet nozzle 102; and provide an anti-etching liquidsource. The anti-etching liquid may be cured by an infrared light toform anti-etching patterns on a substrate. The patterns may be used asan etching mask and may not be etched by a subsequent etching process,thus the patterns may be referred as anti-etching patterns.

The anti-etching liquid may be any appropriate etching barrier material,such as a bottom antireflection material, or a photoresist material,etc. In certain other embodiments, the anti-etching material may beother non-photoactive photoresist, etc.

The jet nozzle 102 may be any appropriate shape. In one embodiment, thejet nozzle 102 is a cylindrical tube. The size (inner diameter) of thecylindrical tube may be in a range of approximately 80%˜120% of the linewidth of the anti-etching patterns.

The compression unit 103 may be configured to compress the liquid cell101 to cause the anti-etching liquid in the anti-etching liquid cell 101to be jetted from the jet nozzle 102. Further, referring to FIG. 1, thefirst electrode 104 and the second electrode 105 may be disposed at bothsides of the compression unit 103. By applying a voltage between thefirst electrode 104 and the second electrode 105, the compressive statusand the release status of the compression unit 103 may be controlled.

The compression unit 103 may be made of any appropriate material. In oneembodiment, the compression unit 103 may be made of a piezoelectricmaterial, or an electrical thermal material, thus the compression unit130 may be driven by an electric signal directly. In certain otherembodiments, the compression unit 103 may be made other non-activematerial, thus the compression unit 103 may be constructed as a MEMSdevice, and driven by an electric static force, or a magnetic force,etc.

The first electrode 104 and the second electrode 105 may be made of anyappropriate material, such as metal film, conductive paste, orpolysilicon, etc. In one embodiment, the first electrode 104 and thesecond electrode 105 are made of polysilicon.

Further, referring to FIG. 1, an insulation layer 400 may be formedbetween the first electrode 104 and the second electrode 105. Theinsulation layer 400 may be used to electrically and physically insulatethe first electrode 104 and the second electrode 105. Various materialsmay be used as the insulation layer 400, such as silicon oxide, siliconnitride, or rubber, etc.

Further, referring to FIG. 1, the length of the anti-etching liquid cell101 (along the y-axis direction) and the length of the first electrode104 and the second electrode 105 (along y-axis direction) may be anyappropriate value. In one embodiment, the length of the anti-etchingliquid cell 101 may be greater than the length of the first electrode104 and the second electrode 105. Thus, the anti-etching liquid cell 101may protrude from the entire liquid jet unit 100; and the jet nozzle 102may be disposed at the protruding portion of the anti-etching liquidcell 101.

In one embodiment, the width of the anti-etching liquid cell 101 (alongthe x-axis direction) may be approximately 50 nm. The inner diameter ofthe jet nozzle 102 may be approximately 50 nm. The thickness of thecompression unit 103 (along the x-axis direction) may be approximately50 nm. The thickness of the first electrode 104 (along the x-axisdirection) may be approximately 50 nm. The thickness of the secondelectrode 105 may be approximately 150 nm. In certain other embodiments,other appropriate geometric design may be used.

FIGS. 2-3 illustrate a plurality of liquid jet units 100. The jetnozzles 102 of the plurality of liquid jet units 100 are aligned into acolumn. FIG. 3 is a top view of the plurality of the jet units 100illustrated in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2-3, because the thickness of the anti-etching liquidcell 101 (along the x-axis direction shown in FIG. 1) is smaller thanthe total thickness of the liquid jet unit 100 (along the x-axis shownin FIG. 1), and the jet nozzle 102 may be disposed at the protrudingportion of the anti-etching liquid cell 101, the plurality of the liquidjet units 100 may be aligned into a column at both sides the centralline of the jet nozzles 102 (along the x-axis shown in FIG. 1). The gapbetween jet nozzles 102 may be filled with the insulation layer 400.Such an alignment of the jet nozzles 102 and the liquid jet units 100may increase the alignment density of the jet nozzles 102, and it mayincrease the pattern density of the subsequently formed anti-etchingpatterns.

Further, referring to FIG. 3, the first electrode 104 may be adjacent tothe anti-etching liquid cell 101; and the thickness of the firstelectrode 104 may be smaller than the thickness of the second electrode105. When a voltage is applied between the first electrode 104 and thesecond electrode 105, the piezoelectric material (the compression unit103) between the first electrode 104 and the second electrode 105 maygenerate a deformation; and the deformation may press the firstelectrode 104 and the second electrode 105. Further, the thickness ofthe first electrode 104 may be smaller than the second electrode 105.For example, the thickness of the first electrode 104 may beapproximately one third of the thickness of the second electrode 105.Therefore, the deformation of the first electrode 104 may besignificantly greater than the deformation of the second electrode 105.The deformed first electrode 104 may further press the anti-etchingliquid cell 101, and thus the anti-etching liquid in the anti-etchingliquid cell 101 may be jetted from the liquid jet unit 100 through thejet nozzle 100.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of exposure units 110 may bedisposed at both sides of the jet nozzle 102. FIG. 4 also illustratesthe principle for forming a plurality of the anti-etching patterns 210on the surface of a substrate 200.

When the anti-etching liquid stored in the anti-etching liquid cell 101is jetted out from the jet nozzle 102; and deposited on the surface ofthe substrate 200, the light generated by the exposure units 110 mayirradiate and heat the anti-etching liquid deposited on the surface ofthe substrate 200 immediately, thus the anti-etching liquid may be curedto form the anti-etching patterns 210.

The light generated by the exposure units 110 may be an infrared lightor an ultraviolet light, etc. In one embodiment, the light generated bythe exposure unit 110 is an infrared light. The infrared light may havea higher heating efficiency.

In one embodiment, the inner diameter of the jet nozzle 102 may beapproximately 50 nm; the maximum jet length may be approximately 400 nmand the area of the side surface of the compression unit 103 may beapproximately 100 μm×150 nm. Thus, the area of the side surface of thecompression unit 103 may approximately 6000 times of the area of the jetnozzle 102. That is, for a same volume, the side surface of thecompression unit 103 may only need to move 0.07 nm to cause the jetnozzle 102 to have a jet length of 400 nm. Usually, the swelling ratioof piezoelectric ceramic, i.e., the ratio of the sizes before and aftera deformation, may be approximately 0.2%, thus if the compression unit103 is made of piezoelectric ceramic, the swelling value of thecompression unit 103 made of the piezoelectric ceramic may beapproximately 0.1 nm; and such a swelling value may cause the jet nozzle102 to have a maximum jet length up to 400 nm. For a patterning processwith a resolution of 50 nm, the thickness of the photoresist may beapproximately 100 nm; the jet length of 400 nm of the disclosedpatterning apparatus may be able to match the process requirements.

Further, the line width of the subsequently formed anti-etching patterns210 on the surface of the substrate 200 may be controlled by thequantity of the anti-etching liquid jetted through the jet nozzle 102.The quantity of the anti-etching liquid may be controlled by the size ofthe jet nozzle 102, the area of the sidewall of the anti-etching liquidcell 101, and the area of the sidewall of the compression unit 103, etc.

Further, the thickness of the anti-etching patterns 210 formed on thesurface of the substrate 200 may be controlled by the quantity of theanti-etching liquid jetted by the jet nozzle 102 and/or by using ananti-etching liquid having different surface tension. The anti-etchingliquid having a relatively large surface tension may form relativelythick anti-etching patterns 210 on the surface of the substrate 200. Theanti-etching liquid having a relatively small surface tension may beform relatively thin anti-etching patterns 210 on the surface of thesubstrate 200. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a larger quantity ofanti-etching liquid jetted by jet nozzle 102 may form anti-etchingpatterns with a larger line width; and a smaller quantity ofanti-etching liquid jetted by the jet nozzle 102 may form anti etchingpatterns with a smaller line width.

As shown in FIG. 5, a liquid jet group 300 may be formed by a pluralityof liquid jet units 100. The plurality of the liquid jet units 100 maybe aligned with columns and rows. The columns may be perpendicular tothe jet unit scanning direction, i.e., the x-axis direction. The rowsmay have a predetermined angle with the scanning direction of the liquidjet units 100. The exposure units 110 may be disposed between adjacentcolumns.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 5, the first periodic distance d1of the liquid jet units 100 or the jet nozzles 102 along the scanningdirection (the x-axis direction) may be in a range of approximately 50μm˜300 μm. The second periodic distance d2 of the liquid jet units 100or the jet nozzles 102 may be in a range of approximately 300 nm˜10000nm.

Further, referring to FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the liquid jet units100 in a same row and different columns may have an offset d3 along thescanning direction (x-axis). Such an arrangement may be referred thatthe rows may have a predetermined angle with the scanning direction ofthe liquid jet units 100. Such an arrangement may cause the plurality ofliquid jet units 100 to obtain anti-etching patterns 210 with a pitchsmaller than the second periodic distance d2 of the liquid jet units 100when the plurality of the liquid jet units 100 jet the anti-etchingliquid along the scanning direction to form the anti-etching patterns210.

The column number of the liquid jet group 300 may be determined by thepitch of the anti-etching patterns 210. In one embodiment, if the liquidjet units 100 of the liquid jet group 300 are arranged as illustrated inFIG. 2 or FIG. 3, when the width of the anti-etching liquid cell 101 isapproximately 50 nm; the thickness of the compression unit 103 isapproximately 50 nm; the width of the first electrode 104 isapproximately 50 nm; and the second electrode 105 is approximately 250,the spatial period of the jet nozzles 102 along the direction verticalto the jet scanning direction may be approximately 200 nm. If the linewidth of the to-be-formed anti-etching patterns is approximately 50 nm,the pitch is approximately 100 nm, thus anti-etching patterns with thepitch size 100 nm may be obtained by using two columns of liquid jetunits 100 with a spatial period of 200 nm and an interval d3=100 nmalong the direction vertical to the jet scanning direction to jet-scansimultaneously. In certain other embodiments, when the spatial period ofthe jet nozzles 102 along the direction vertical to the jet-scandirection is approximately 200 nm, and the pitch of the to-be-formedanti-etching patterns are smaller than 100 nm, a plurality of columns ofthe liquid jet unit 100 may be used to obtain the anti-etching patterns.

Further, referring to FIG. 5, a plurality of the exposure units 110 maybe disposed between columns vertical to the jet-scan direction. Becausethe second distance d2 between adjacent liquid jet units 100 along thedirection vertical to the jet-scan direction may determine the linewidth of the subsequently formed anti-etching patterns; and the firstdistance d1 between adjacent liquid jet units 100 along the a directionparallel to the jet-scan direction may be relatively large, when theplurality of exposure units 110 are disposed between the columns alongthe direction vertical to the jet-scan direction, it may aid to theprinting of patterns at small pitch of the subsequently formedanti-etching patterns.

Further, referring to FIG. 5, the plurality of exposure units 110 mayform a plurality of columns vertical to the jet-scan direction; and thecolumns of the exposure units 110 and the columns of the liquid jetunits 100 may be alternatingly-distributed. Such a distribution maycause the anti-etching liquid jetted on the surface of the substrate tobe heated immediately after the anti-etching liquid being jetted by anycolumn of liquid jet units 100. Thus, the anti-etching liquid jetted onthe surface of the substrate may be cured to form the anti-etchingpatterns.

In certain other embodiments, a liquid jet module may be formed by aplurality of the liquid jet groups 300. FIG. 6 illustrates a liquid jetmodule consistent with the disclosed embodiments. For illustrativepurposes, three of the plurality of the liquid jet groups 300 areillustrated: the first liquid jet group 300 a, the second liquid jetgroup 300 b and the third liquid jet group 300 c.

As shown in FIG. 6, the periodic distances d2 a, d2 b, and d2 c of thefirst liquid jet group 300 a, the second liquid jet group 300 b and thesecond liquid jet group 300 c along the scan-jet direction (y-axisdirection) may be different. That is, the pitch of the liquid jet units100 along the jet-scan direction may be different, and the magnificationratio of the formed patterns along the non-scanning direction may bedifferent. Thus, the magnification errors caused by the patterningprocess may be covered by the disclosed liquid jet module. Themagnification errors may include the magnification errors caused by theheating process of the patterning process, etc.

In certain other embodiments, it may need an overlay-magnification forthe extension caused by heating the substrate during the process forforming the anti-etching patterns. The overlay-magnification may beperformed by pre-selecting jet nozzle groups with different patternmagnifications. In one embodiment, the difference of the patternmagnifications of different jet nozzles may be in range of approximately±0.1 ppm˜±1 ppm.

In certain other embodiments, the overlay-magnification along thescanning direction may be performed by adjusting the scanning speedalong the scanning direction and the jetting time.

Further, the patterning apparatus may also include an insulation layerand an anti-etching liquid reservoir. FIG. 7 illustrates a correspondingstructure.

As shown in FIG. 7, an insulation layer 400 and an anti-etching liquidreservoir 500 may be sequentially disposed on a plurality of liquid jetunits 100 to form the disclosed patterning apparatus. The insulationlayer 400 may be disposed on a plurality of liquid jet units 100(referring to FIG. 2); and may cover the plurality of liquid jet units100. The insulation layer 400 may be used to insulate the plurality ofliquid jet units 100 and the anti-etching liquid reservoir 500. Further,referring to FIG. 1 and the FIG. 3, as described above, the insulationlayer 400 may also be used to fill the gap between the first electrode104 and the second electrode 105 and the gap between adjacent liquid jetunits 100 and jet nozzles 102, etc.

The insulation layer 400 may have a plurality of openings. The openingsmay be used to connect the anti-etching liquid reservoir 500 and theanti-etching liquid cells 101 of the plurality of liquid jet units 100.When the anti-etching liquid reservoir 500 connects with the pluralityof the anti-etching liquid cells 101, the anti-etching liquid reservoir500 may provide the anti-etching liquid to the anti-etching liquid cells101.

Further, the exposure apparatus may also include a control module (notshown). The control module may be configured to provide scanningparameters; control the motion status and jetting status of one or moreliquid jet units 100, liquid jet groups 300 and/or liquid jet modules,etc. The control module may also be configured to control the motionstatus and exposure status of one or more exposure units 110. Bycontrolling such status, anti-etching patterns may be formed on thesurface of the substrate. In one embodiment, the control unit may besimilar as the control unit of an electron beam lithography system or amodified control unit of an electron beam lithography system, etc.

The control module may also control other components of the exposureapparatus. For example, the exposure apparatus may include a pluralityof motors. The motors may carry the liquid jet module to scan along thescanning direction. The control module may send commands to the motorsto perform a scanning.

The exposure apparatus may also include a plurality alignment andleveling modules to align the and level the exposure apparatus with thewafer. The control module may used to send and receive signal from thealignment and leveling modules; and perform an alignment and levelingprocess.

In one embodiment, the patterning apparatus may include a plurality ofliquid jet modules. FIG. 8 illustrates a corresponding structure.

As shown in FIG. 8, for a 300 mm substrate 200, there may be 12×9exposure shots, thus 12 liquid jet modules may be combined into a columnalong a direction vertical to a scanning direction, thus amultiple-liquid jet module 600 may be constructed. The efficiency forforming anti-etching patterns may be significantly improved by using themultiple-liquid jet module 600. For example, the total exposure time ofall the exposure shots on the substrate 200 may be approximately 3seconds; the yield per hour may be over 300 substrates even consideringthe substrate loading and alignment. Such a yield is much higher thanthe yield of an immersion lens lithography system, which is 200substrates per hour. Further, the disclosed patterning apparatus doesnot need expensive lenses and reticles, and the liquid jet units 100 maybe fabricated by a process similar as the process for forming the nozzleof existing printer, thus the disclosed apparatus may have asignificantly high yield with a low cost.

Therefore, the present disclosure also includes a patterning processperformed by the disclosed patterning apparatus. The patterning processincludes providing a substrate; jetting an anti-etching liquid on thesurface of the substrate by one or more liquid jet units along ascanning direction; and exposing and heating to cure the anti-etchingliquid jetted on the surface of the substrate by one or more exposuresunit along the scanning direction.

By using the disclosed methods and apparatus, various advantageousapplications may be implemented. According to the disclosed embodiments,the patterning apparatus may include a plurality of liquid jet units.The liquid jet units may jet an anti-etching liquid onto the surface ofa wafer. The patterning apparatus may also include a plurality ofexposure units. The exposure units may be configured to irradiate theanti-etching liquid formed on the surface of the wafer to cure theanti-etching liquid formed on the surface of the wafer along thescanning direction to form anti-etching patterns. Further, thepatterning apparatus may include a control module. The control modulemay be configured to control the motion and the jet status of the liquidjet units and the motion and the exposure status of the exposure units.The disclosed patterning apparatus may jet an anti-etching liquid on thesurface of a wafer by controlling the liquid jet units; and irradiatethe anti-etching liquid formed on the surface of the wafer bycontrolling the exposure units to cure the anti-etching liquid formed onthe surface of the wafer to formed anti-etching patterns. Because thedisclosed patterning apparatus does not include expensive lens andreticles, the cost is relatively low.

Further, the disclosed apparatus may be able to form a liquid jet groupusing a plurality of liquid jet units. The plurality of liquid jet unitsmay be distributed by rows and columns. Further, the rows parallel tothe jet scan direction may have an angle with the jet scan direction.That is, the liquid jet units at a same row and different columns mayhave a certain distance; and may be offset. A plurality of columns ofliquid jet units may jet an anti-etching liquid simultaneously; and itmay be able to reduce the pitch of the anti-etching patterns formed onthe wafer.

Further, the disclosed pattern apparatus may be able to form a liquidjet module using a plurality of liquid jet groups. The periodic distanceof a liquid jet group along a direction perpendicular to the scanningdirection may be different. That is, the pitch of the liquid jet unitsof each liquid jet group may be different; and the pattern magnificationratio may be different, thus the overlay-magnification may be performedby selecting jet nozzle groups with different magnification ratios.

Further, the disclosed pattern apparatus may be able to connect multipleliquid jet modules together along the direction perpendicular to the jetscan direction. The pattern apparatus having multiple liquid jet modulesmay be able to significantly improve the efficiency for forming theanti-etching patterns; and the pattern capability of the patternapparatus may be increased.

The above detailed descriptions only illustrate certain exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit thescope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can understandthe specification as whole and technical features in the variousembodiments can be combined into other embodiments understandable tothose persons of ordinary skill in the art. Any equivalent ormodification thereof, without departing from the spirit and principle ofthe present invention, falls within the true scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A patterning apparatus, comprising: a pluralityof liquid jet units arranged in one or more groups and configured to jetan anti-etching liquid onto a surface of a substrate; a plurality ofexposure units configured to expose light on the anti-etching liquidjetted on the surface of the substrate to heat and cure the jettedanti-etching liquid to form anti-etching patterns on the surface of thesubstrate; and a control module configured to control motion status andjetting status of the plurality of liquid jet units and to controlmotion status and exposure status of the plurality of exposure units, soas to form the anti-etching patterns at a predetermined line width andthickness.
 2. The patterning apparatus according to claim 1, whereineach liquid jet unit further includes: an anti-etching liquid cellconfigured to store the anti-etching liquid; a jet nozzle configured toconnect with the anti-etching liquid and jet the anti-etching liquidonto the surface of the substrate; a compression unit configured tocompress the anti-etching liquid unit to cause the anti-etching liquidin the anti-etching liquid cell to be jetted out from the jet nozzle;and a first electrode and a second electrode disposed at both sides ofthe compression unit to control a compression status of the compressionunit by applying a voltage.
 3. The patterning apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein: the compression unit is made of piezoelectricmaterial, or electrical thermal material.
 4. The patterning apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein: the first electrode and the secondelectrode are made of polysilicon.
 5. The patterning apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein: the first electrode is adjacent to the anti-etchingliquid cell; and a thickness of the first electrode is smaller than athickness of the second electrode.
 6. The patterning apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein: the jet nozzle is a cylindrical tube; and an innerdiameter of the jet nozzle is in a range of approximately 80%˜120% of aline width of the anti-etching patterns.
 7. The patterning apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein: a light source of the exposure unit is aninfrared light source.
 8. The patterning apparatus according to claim 1,wherein: the anti-etching liquid is a bottom anti-reflection material;or a photoresist material.
 9. The patterning apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein: the anti-etching liquid is a non-photo activephotoresist material.
 10. The patterning apparatus according to claim 2,further including: an anti-etching liquid reservoir configured toconnect with the plurality of the anti-etching liquid cells and providethe anti-etching liquid.
 11. The patterning apparatus according to claim10, further including: an insulation layer disposed between theanti-etching liquid reservoir and the plurality of liquid jet units toinsulate the anti-etching liquid reservoir and the plurality of theliquid jet units; and a plurality of openings formed in the insulationlayer to connect the anti-etching liquid reservoir with the plurality ofliquid jet units.
 12. The patterning apparatus according to claim 1,wherein: the plurality of liquid jet units form a liquid jet group; andthe plurality of liquid jet groups for a liquid jet module.
 13. Thepatterning apparatus according to claim 12, wherein: the plurality ofliquid jet units in the liquid jet group are aligned into columns androws; the columns are perpendicular to a scanning direction; and therows have a predetermined angle with the scanning direction.
 14. Thepatterning apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: the plurality ofexposure units are disposed between adjacent columns.
 15. The patterningapparatus according to claim 13, where: periodic distances of liquid jetunits in different groups along the scanning direction are different.16. A patterning method for a patterning apparatus having a plurality ofliquid jet units arranged in columns and groups and a plurality ofexposure units corresponding to the plurality of liquid jet units, themethod comprising: providing a substrate; jetting anti-etching liquidonto the surface of the substrate by the plurality of liquid jet unitsalong a scanning direction; exposing light on the anti-etching liquidjetted on the surface of the substrate to heat and cure the jettedanti-etching liquid to form anti-etching patterns on the surface of thesubstrate by the plurality of exposure units along the scanningdirection; controlling motion status and jetting status of the pluralityof liquid jet units and controlling motion status and exposure status ofthe plurality of exposure units, so as to form the anti-etching patternsat a predetermined line width and thickness.
 17. The method according toclaim 16, wherein: each liquid jet unit includes an anti-etching liquidcell, a jet nozzle, a compression unit, a first electrode and a secondelectrode.
 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein jetting theanti-etching liquid onto the surface of the substrate further includes:applying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrodeof the compression unit of the liquid jet unit to compress theanti-etching liquid cell.
 19. The method according to claim 16, wherein:a thickness of the first electrode is smaller than a thickness of thesecond electrode.
 20. The method according to claim 17, furtherincluding: the compression unit is made of a piezoelectric material oran electric thermal material.